Sanity Not Included
by InsomniacFlaaffy
Summary: He is Experiment 23, a chimera. After years of testing and abuse, the boy escapes the Facility and ends up at Kong. Everyone assumes that this boy is Russel's son, though he rejects ever having a kid. There were so many questions and not enough answers; the boy's past will certainly catch up to him and the Gorillaz.
1. Arrival

Loneliness is a horrible feeling that plagues the human race, it affected children worse than adults and Noodle was suffering from a bad case of the 'lonelies' today. It was early afternoon in late April, clear skies and warm weather gave good fortune to the people who went to enjoy the fair forecast but not Noodle. No, she was trapped inside this god forsaken mansion with nothing to do. She couldn't go outside without one the boys watching her however; they were too busy to pay any attention to her. 'Busy', 'busy', 'busy'; it was all she heard instead of any other words come from the men's mouths these days. To express her growing anger towards them, Noodle began a vow of silence and ignored for a day and a half. This had the guitarist steaming with rage and she hid herself in the lobby, furiously mashing the buttons on her Gameboy on the couch with her feet propped on the coffee table. She was depressed, only wanted a friend to play with and the boys couldn't even let her have that.

The monotone ring of the doorbell echoed across the still, stale air of the lobby and Noodle unglued her eyes from her video game to the dusty, glass double doors. There was a young man wearing a plain, brown uniform holding a clipboard to his side standing outside, waiting patiently for Noodle to answer. Noodle remembered Russel informing her to never open the door to strangers but she noticed a 10 foot crate behind the man that closely resembles the crate she had arrived in at Kong. It seemed important, so what harm could come from it? Tossing her Gameboy on the couch; Noodle hopped up and strolled over to the glass doors; she cautiously opened the door for the skinny uniformed man and watched him push the crate into the lobby.

"Alrighty, little girl," The man knelt to Noodle's eye level, glancing over his clipboard once then twice before continuing his sentence. "All the paperwork is in order and already signed off. Can you tell your parents their package has come?" Noodle tilted her head as she slowly picked apart the man's command, understanding a few words like 'parents' and 'package'. She nodded her head in response. The man gave the child a firm pat on the head before giving a warm goodbye and walking briskly down the concrete steps. As the delivery man traveled out of Noodle's line of sight, her facial expression hardened into a deep scowl and she began kicking the box in hopes of breaking the contents inside.

With one more good kick, the box flipped over on its side, the sound of the box hitting the floor and the wood splitting startled Noodle a bit. Something had moved within the crate and Noodle kept her distance as the top of the crate fell open. A small boy tumbled out the box, no younger than Noodle, wearing only a pair of black spandex shorts. His hair was spiky and long enough to touch the floor, a messy coal black bird's nest of hair. He yawned, scratching at the track marks on his arms and his back with the tip of his brown monkey tail, not noticing Noodle nearby. His ribs were poking through his dark brown skin from malnutrition plus ugly blueish-black bruises covering most of his body and a yellow plastic cattle tag attached to his left ear lobe with the number 23 written on it in faded black ink, someone had abused him before ending up in that crate.

"Um…hallo?" Noodle greeted the boy sheepish, waving her hand to catch the boy's attention.

The boy grinned, baring his tiny fanged teeth and wiggling his tail. "Hiiii…" He said; his voice sounded slightly like a young male human synthesizer; awkwardly waving back by bending his fingers and his milky white eyes narrowed with contentment. Without warning, the boy began to circle Noodle while walking on his hands and feet, peculiarly sniffing the guitarist's skin. He was strange boy but then again, 'normal' wasn't a word typically used in the Gorillaz vocabulary so fitting in wouldn't be a problem for him. She wondered if the boy had a name though.

"Noods, you okay?" The voice of 2D called from the basement stairwell, his hollow footsteps became louder as he drew closer to the door. "I thought I heard something break." The noise of a different person's voice frightened the boy causing him to flee back into the confines of the FedEx crate, observing the young man emerging from the depths of the basement. His skin was pale like a porcelain statue, spiky hair more blue than the ocean floor and onyx eyes that seemed like never-ending black holes. 2D walked over to Noodle and was immediately barraged by fast paced Japanese; Noodle could hardly contain her excitement.

2D covered Noodle's mouth. "Slow down, Noodle. I can't understand what you're saying." Grabbing the singer by the arm, Noodle dragged 2D over to the open crate and made him bend over so the tall man could peer inside the dark box.

"Zero," Noodle called into the box, giving the boy a name that reflected how she knew nothing about him. "Toochi friend, no scared." She tried to use the cheeriest tone to coax the boy out of hiding and with success; 'Zero' gradually crawled out as he kept his eyes glued to the singer. In worry, he clutched a white stuffed cat closely to him; the cat was worn and grimy yet it a happy smile on its face even though one of its black button eyes was missing. Zero's tail waved to and fro, the sight of it amused Noodle but shocked 2D a bit. Kneeling to Zero's eye level, Stu glanced over to the damaged FedEx crate then back to bizarre child. A thought began to form in 2D vacant mind, causing the little hamster in his brain to wake from its slumber and start running on its wheel again. Then it hit him like one of Murdoc's many punches.

He looks just like Russel.


	2. Skinwalker

2D pondered for a while on the thought of Russel being a father, it wasn't like him to have one-night stands. But, then again, where there any other logical reason of why the boy looked similar to the drummer. Outside of his head, the singer wore a blank expression on his face as he continued to gaze forward into nothingness. The hallow stare made the boy fell uncomfortable and he clutched his stuffed cat closer.

Noodle waved her hand back and forth in froth of the young man's face, calling his name several times but it was all in vain. The poor singer was a lost cause when he started thinking over complicated matters; his mind hamster seemed to have called it quits already.

The girl abandoned 2D and grabbed Zero by his free hand, "Want Noodles?" she asked.

"Nu…dells?" Zero repeated, confused.

Noodle nodded, "Hai, food!"

Zero's white eyes widen. "Me been good boy? Me get food?" He paused then pulled up his lips in the biggest grin. "FoodFood Food Food Food Food Food Food Food Food!" He chanted with excitement, jumping up and down. Noodle walked over to the elevator with Zero in tow and pushed the up button to call the lift. The metal doors creaked open and the boy froze in place, staring at the open elevator with his tail between his legs. He didn't understand how the lift came to be. Was it some magic portal to another world? Or was it another metal monster ready to feed on his flesh. Noodle almost had to drag Zero into the elevator; the whole ride up, the boy pressed himself against the back wall so hard that Noodle thought he was going to faze through it.

The smell of ham, beef noodles, and eggs made Zero's mouth water. He had never smelt something like thing before in his life. He watched Noodle hard at work with their meal from on top of the refrigerator, swinging his limbs as he waited. Noodle removed the pot off the stove and carefully poured the pasta into two large bowls. She cracked egg shells on the bowl rim and dropped the gooey contents on top of the steamy noodles. Like magic, the clear goop solidified and turned white. Noodle threw in different kinds of spices and a few more pieces of ham to the stew, smiling at her masterpiece. She served the hot meal and took a seat in front of a bowl, motioning Zero to also take a seat. His tail twitched and Zero leapt down from his post and landed softly on the stool. The soup looked so good and Noodle worked so hard to make it for him, Zero didn't deserve nice things. He never deserve anything, he remember them saying.

"Me no good, me no good…" Zero muttered, pushing his bowl away from him. "Good boys get food, me no good." He rested his head on the table and his stomach roared in hunger. Zero wanted to cry but he couldn't, he had already cried for years now. He had no more tears left… Zero hugged his stuffed cat tight; she was such a good friend.

Noodle stopped her chewing and let her chopsticks settle in her ramen. "No, you wrong!" She said with bits of her food flying out. "You good now eat! Make you feel better, trust Noodle!" She bumped Zero's bowl against his head repeatedly.

He lifted his head and looked up at Noodle. "Nudell think me a good boy but me been told me no good." Zero used his finger to pick at his meal, ignoring the scalding hot temperature of the food and took small bites. Then he stopped, "Me trust Nudell, yes?" The boy asked. "Hear story, listen good?"

"Hai!" The girl responded with a big smile.

That smile; it comforted him somewhat. But where should he start at? His mind could hold a fair amount of information, like names and simple commands. It was hard for him to remember everything but bits and pieces of the year before still remained. Slowly, it fitted together like an old puzzle

White Coats; a term he coined the people that 'cared' for him because of the white jackets they wore. They would stab him with pointy things filled with strange liquids; he grew sicker with each different liquid they put in him. They denied him food for long periods of time, especially when he didn't follow orders or complete a test in time. He was locked away inside a metal chamber and slept on the cold floor, haunted by nightmares and voices of the fallen souls within the Facility. There was one person that made some of the pain go away, a woman, but Zero couldn't quite remember what she looked like. He always referred to the woman as 'Momma' as she was the nicest out of all the White Coats. He pushed his bowl away, still filled with food, and began twisting his tail nervously. They told that he was a failure and he believed them; how could anyone love a failure? It was his own fault he was tortured for so long, his fault that no one loved him. Rage coursed through his veins; he fucking hated his useless self! He could have stopped it all, killed all those stupid White Coats, but he was too scared to. He was a failure. Zero grabbed his bowl and chucked it across the room, the ceramic bowl shattered as it connected with the opposite wall, it contents slid down the wall.

His chest heaved with every angry breath he took, his eyes twitched and his tail lashed about. Zero then began sobbing loudly without tears; Noodle sat in silence nearby.

"What the fuck is making all that damn wailing?" A shirtless Murdoc stood in the kitchen doorway, glaring at the two children. "And who the hell is this kid?" He said, motioning to Zero.

A shiver ran up Zero's spine at the site of the older man. He could feel the darkness radiate off the man's tan skin. "Evil Man!" Zero screeched, took Noodle's bowl of food and raised it over his head. He shook from head to tail in fear; the evil man was going to take him back to the White Coats. He wouldn't let him do that, not now, not ever. "Go away, Evil Man!" He threw the bowl at Murdoc before Noodle could stop him. Murdoc grasped the brass doorknob of the open door and nonchalantly closed the door, the bowl smashed in pieces against the wood.

"You've got 5 seconds to-," The older man said as he reopened the door but shut the hell up when a wooden stool came flying right at him. Murdoc ducked and the stool brushed the top of his head then bounced on the floor a few feet behind him. He stood, fuming. "Stop fucking throwing-," Murdoc began saying yet was cut off once again by a barrage of kitchenware. Knives, pots, pans, and chairs; how much shit was in that kitchen? The bangs and clangs ceased after several minutes of assault, Murdoc poked his head through the doorway.

The boy was on top of the refrigerator again, hissing at Noodle who stood at the bottom. "Come down, Zero. Please? Mur'oc good…" Noodle's statement trailed of when she remembered the bassist did push the singer down a flight of stairs just yesterday. 'Good' was stretching it a bit far.

His back ached, his tail stood erected and bristled. Zero bared his teeth. "Nudell lie! Part of White Coats! No friend! Lie lie lie!" He threw his stuffed cat at Noodle which she avoided by moving out the way. Zero shook his body back and forth like a wet dog, his body blurred then his skin folded away to now show a shirtless Stuart in Zero's place. "Nudell is a liar liar liar." Said the simian tailed Stu in broken English. It didn't appear that Zero noticed that he had changed into a different person. "Part of the White Coats…" He said in a daze.

Murdoc had seen enough to know what this kid was. He briskly walked in the kitchen, picked up Noodle, and left as briskly as he entered. The two hid behind the wall, out of sight, and Murdoc grabbed Noodle by her jacket. He shook her a bit. "What the hell are you doing near a fucking Skinwalker?" Was it clean that Murdoc was upset with her?

"Not Skin-waker, it Zero!" Noodle retorted, struggling in the man's grasp.

"Does anyone wanna tell me why most of the kitchen is out in the hall?" Russel asked, as if appearing out of nowhere. Murdoc jumped, letting go of the girl. The man weighted over four hundred pounds, how the hell was he so quiet?

"Dammit Twinkletoes, stop sneaking around like that! Nevermind, we've got a problem." Murdoc said with disgust. "There's a Skinwalker in the kitchen and Noodle here was getting all buddy-buddy with it."

"Not Skin-waker, it Zero!" She repeated.

"Little girl," He growled through his tightly clinched teeth, fed up with her voice as of now. "I think I know about demons more than you."

"Nuh-uh!" Noodle said in a mocking tone. She stuck her tongue out and blew a razzberry at the bassist.

"I would've fed you to the zombies if you didn't play guitar…"

The large man sidestepped around the two to enter the kitchen; they would be at it for hours and he really had no time for that. Time to see this 'Skinwalker' Murdoc was talking about.

The 'demon' in question sat in the middle of the floor, unaware of Russel's presence. It almost looked exactly like 2D, only with minor differences that made it obvious it wasn't the real 2D. Its skin was pastier, its limbs were more elongated, its hair faded from blue to black and its hair line trailed down its spine to the base of its tail. It spoke to a one-eyed stuffed cat in a strange language and hugged the ragged toy tight against its bare chest. But then the creature picked its head up and stared at Russel quietly. It didn't screech, it didn't throw things, it didn't say anything; it just sat there and stared.

It spoke up after a few minutes passed in the singer's voice. "You…you. Momma talked about you. You know Momma, don't you, Big Man?"

"Uh," He hesitated. He could say no and possible have his face ripped off or lie and spare his face. Did he have any other choice? Russel scratched the back of his neck and chuckled nervously. "Yeah, sure. You can say that."

Fake!2D smiled, "Good, good…" The creature's body turned black and reverted back to its original form; a little boy. "Me stay here, be safe, wait for Momma…"

"WHAT!?" Murdoc shouted, storming into the room with the two. "I am not running a charity case for-," Murdoc paused to look at Zero, then at Russel, then back at Zero. "-your freaky demon kid! Isn't one kid running around here enough?"

Russel responded flatly, "He ain't my kid."

"Of course he is! You people kinda look the same anyway." Murdoc said with a smug look on his face. Zero stood up and walked over to Murdoc. With a tightly clenched fist, the boy punched the older man right in his groin.

**A/N: Murdoc refers to Zero as a Skinwalker due to his ability to change into other people, kinda like the alien in **_**The Thing**_


End file.
